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Chris Spence, a former Toronto principal and superintendent of Hamilton's public school board, speaks to members of the media following a press conference to announce his new appointment as director of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) in Toronto, February 24, 2009.Photo: Tyler Anderson/National Post

Chris Spence, the education director of the Toronto District School Board who wrote a plagiarized opinion piece for the Toronto Star last weekend, has resigned as the fallout from the scandal widens.

While Spence issued a detailed mea culpa for these offenses — which included a promise to enroll in a media ethics course — that didn’t seem to be enough after the National Post uncovered similar infractions based on previous Star contributions and blog posts.

The resignation followed an admonishment from Toronto mayor Rob Ford — who is now awaiting the results of an appeal from a judicial decision that will oust him from office due to ethical infractions.

Concerns over plagiarism have grown during the past decade or two with the increased publication of material on the web.

Jonah Lehrer, a 31-year-old writer for The New Yorker and Wired magazines, had his career hit a brick wall last summer after the discovery of a made-up quote from Bob Dylan led to the discovery of further fabrications throughout his career.

Margaret Wente continues to work as a columnist for The Globe and Mail, on the other hand, despite criticism last fall in light of evidence that she demonstrated a pattern of including unattributed material.

Would the school board director fit into one of those categories? Probably not, given how he was voluntarily contributing opinion pieces to Canada’s largest-circulation newspaper.